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virtues of ramadhaan compiled by sheikhul hadeeth hadhrat moulana muhammad zakariyya kandehlawi

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virtues of ramadhaan written by sheikhul hadeeth hadhrat moulana muhammad zakariyya ta limi board kzn 4 third avenue p.o.box 26024 isipingo beach 4115 south africa +27-31 912 2172 +27-31 902 9268 info@talimiboardkzn.org www.talimiboardkzn.org september 2007 may 2011 published by tel fax e-mail website first edition second edition for the esaale thawaab of the entire ummah of nabi open permission is granted for reprinting of this booklet provided it is without any alterations a humble appeal is directed to readers to offer suggestions corrections etc to improve the quality of this publication in the future may allah reward you for this the author translators editors sponsors and typesetters humbly request your duas for them their parents families mashaaikh and asaatidha.

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contents ramadhaan the month of rewards 5 rasulullah j lecture on the last day of shabaan 5 our faults 7 advice 8 kindness for the poor unfortunate 10 five gifts given to this ummah in ramadhaan 13 only a very unfortunate person would not get forgiveness in ramadhaan 17 show allah your good deeds in ramadhaan 20 freedom from jahannam and acceptance of dua 21 three persons whose dua is surely accepted 22 importance of sehri the meal before dawn 27 rewards of sehri 28 many people fast and worship at night but earn nothing besides hunger and lost sleep 30 fasting is a protective shield 31 iii

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iv virtues of ramadhaan a single fast of ramadhaan is more valuable than a lifetime of fasts kept out of ramadhaan 36 laylatul qadr 39 the origin 39 all sins are forgiven on worshipping during this night 43 to lose laylatul qadr is to lose all good 44 the malaaikah coming down 46 when to look for laylatul qadr 47 exact knowledge of the date of laylatul qadr taken away 48 signs of laylatul qadr 53 what dua a person should make on laylatul qadr 54 i itikaaf staying in the musjid 56 hadeeth no 1 56 hadeeth no 2 57 the last night of ramadhaan 59

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ramadhaan the month of rewards rasulullah j lecture on the last day of shabaan salmaan says that on the last day of shabaan rasulullah j spoke us and said o people there comes to you a great month now a most blessed month in which is a night greater in value and goodness than a thousand months it is a month in which allah has made fasting fardh by day and has made sunnah the taraweeh salaah by night whosoever wants to be close to allah by doing any good deed for such person shall be the reward like the one who had performed a fardh in any other time and whoever performs a fardh shall be given the reward of seventy faraaidh in any other time this is indeed the month of patience and the reward for true patience is jannah paradise it is the month of showing kindness to everyone it is the month in which a true believer s rizq food money etc are increased whosoever feeds a fasting person in order to break the fast at iftaar sunset for him there shall be forgiveness of sins and freedom from the fire of jahannam hell and he shall receive the same reward as the fasting person whom he fed without the fasting person losing any reward 5

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6 virtues of ramadhaan thereupon we said `o messenger of allah not all of us can afford to give a fasting person something to break his fast with rasulullah j replied `allah gives the same reward to the one who gives a fasting person to break the fast just one date or a drink of water or a sip of milk this is a month the first of which brings allah s mercy the middle of which brings his forgiveness and the last of which brings freedom from the fire of jahannam whosoever gives less work to his servants or workers who are also fasting in this month allah will forgive him and free him from the fire of jahannam in this month four things you should perform in great number two of which shall be to please allah while the other two shall be those which you cannot do without those which shall be to please allah are that you should recite in great number the kalimah tayibbah laa ilaaha illallah i.e to bear witness that there is no god except allah and to recite istighfaar beg allah s forgiveness with astaghfirullah and as for those which you cannot do without you should beg of allah for entrance into jannah and ask protection in him from jahannam and whoever gives a fasting person water to drink allah shall grant him to drink from my fountain such a drink after which that person shall never feel thirsty again until he enters jannah reported by ibn khuzaimah in his `saheeh commentry all the points in this hadeeth have been explained in many other ahaadeeth on the great rewards of ramadhaan rasulullah j gave this lecture at the end of shabaan because he wanted to show us the great importance of ramadhaan so that we do not allow one second of this month to go to waste.

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ramadhaan the month of rewards 7 fasting has been made fardh by allah who has also made sunnah the taraweeh salaah by night from this hadeeth we learn that the command for taraweeh salaah too comes from allah himself besides this in all the ahaadeeth where rasulullah j says i have made it sunnah is to stress its importance all the ulama are agreed upon the fact that taraweeh is sunnah moulana shah abdullah dehlawi in his book `maa thabata bis sunnah states that if the people of any town do not perform taraweeh salaah the muslim ruler should make them do so by force many people say that you may listen to the full qur aan being read in a certain musjid in eight or ten nights and then stop performing taraweeh with jamaat as the sunnah will have been fulfilled this is wrong by doing this only one sunnah will be fulfilled and the other lost we should remember that there are two separate sunnats firstly it is sunnah to hear the full qur aan being read in the taraweeh in ramadhaan secondly it is sunnah to perform taraweeh with jamaat for men in the musjid throughout ramadhaan females should perform their taraweeh at home another point that we learn in the hadeeth is that rasulullah j told us that any nafil done in ramadhaan is rewarded as much as a fardh in normal times and a fardh done in ramadhaan has the reward of seventy fardh at other times our faults is our ibaadah or worship in ramadhaan important to us how many nafil do we perform we see how many people who after having eaten sehri go back to bed without performing the fajr salaah many perform it but not with jamaat someone might think that we give thanks to allah for the food we had eaten for sehri by not

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8 virtues of ramadhaan performing the most important fardh or by not performing it with jamaat such a salaah is not complete rasulullah j said there is no salaah for those near the musjid except in the musjid in the kitaab `mazhaahir-e-haq we find that there is no reward for salaah for people who do not perform it with jamaat without any good reason or excuse similarly in many cases at the time of iftaar maghrib salaah is missed and many do not come to the musjid some miss the takbeer at the beginning or miss the first rakaat many people hurry to get over the taraweeh salaah and even perform the esha salaah before the time of esha starts some do not pay any attention to salaah even in ramadhaan that is the condition of our fardh salaah in ramadhaan whilst performing one fardh of fasting three others are destroyed how often do we see that even the time of zuhr salaah passes by because we are asleep while the time of asr goes by because we are too busy buying selling or cooking to prepare for iftaar if such is the case with the faraaidh then we can imagine how much less importance is given to the nafil actions one finds that because of sleep the times of salaatul ishraaq after sunrise and salaatud dhuhaa before noon go by then what about salaatul awwabeen just after maghrib here we find ourselves busy with iftaar and when thinking about taraweeh after esha this salaah too is neglected further we find that for salaatut tahajjud the time is the same as that for sehri with the result that this too goes by one may make a thousand excuses for not finding time for these nawaafil these are all excuses for not performing these salaah advice there is very strong link between ramadhaan and the tilaawat of the qur aan almost all allah great holy books were sent down in this

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ramadhaan the month of rewards 9 month similarly in this month the qur aan was brought down from the `lowhul mahfoozh preserved tablet to the `samaaud dunyaa earthly sky from where it was revealed bit by bit to rasulullah j in a period of twenty three years there is a great connection between the qur aan and the month of ramadhaan for this reason as much tilaawat of the qur aan as possible should be made during this month such was the habit of our pious people of the past jibraeel used to recite the whole qur aan to our nabi j in the month of ramadhaan in some reports it is stated that rasulullah j used to recite and jibraeel used to listen the ulama have said that it is mustahab to read qur aan in such a manner that while one recites the other listens thereafter another recites while others listen so recite the qur aan as much as possible whatever time remains thereafter should not be wasted rasulullah j drew our attention to four things and advised that we should practice them as much as possible they are the recitation of kalimah tayibbah istighfaar begging for jannah and asking safety from jahannam therefore it must be regarded an honour to spend as much time as possible reciting these this will be the true appreciation of the teachings of rasulullah j what is so difficult about keeping the tongue busy with the recitation of durood salawaat or `laa ilaha illallah while being engaged in our daily works in the same hadeeth rasulullah j said a few more things ramadhaan is the month of patience so if great difficulty is experienced in fasting one should bear it with patience one should not complain as people are fond of doing during hot days if by chance sehri is missed then too one should not complain similarly should any difficulty or trial be experienced one should bear it with patience otherwise these deeds may possibly be empty of barakah blessings when we avoid the worldly pleasures and give up our

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10 virtues of ramadhaan eating and drinking then for the sake of allah s pleasure what are these difficulties kindness for the poor unfortunate the hadeeth also says that it is the month of sympathy and kindness especially for the poor and needy sympathy should be of a practical nature when ten things are placed before us for iftaar at least two or four of them should be set aside for the poor and needy they should be treated more favourably if not then at least equally and should certainly be remembered the sahaabah were living examples in showing sympathy for the poor it is our duty to follow or at least try to follow them in the matter of sacrifice and sympathy only the brave can follow the examples of sahaabah there are many instances which will leave one in amazement if mentioned let us see the following example abu jahm relates that during the battle of yarmouk he went in search of his cousin taking with him a water bag to give him to drink and also wash his wounds if he was found alive or wounded he found him lying among the wounded when i asked him whether he wanted some water he said `yes at that moment someone near him moaned my cousin pointed to that person indicating that i should first give him the water i went to him and found that he too needed water but just as i was about to give him the water a third person groaned near him the second one pointed to this third person meaning that i should give the third one to drink first i went to the third person but before he could drink i found out that he had passed away i then returned to the second one only to find that he too had passed away when i came back to my cousin he too had become a shaheed this is the type of caring character our sahaabah had they preferred to die thirsty rather than to drink before a muslim brother.

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ramadhaan the month of rewards 11 may allah be pleased with them all and grant us ability to follow in their footsteps aameen another hadeeth says that whoever feeds the hungry clothes the naked and gives shelter to the traveller allah shall save him from the terrors of qiyaamah further rasulullah j mentioned the virtue of feeding a fasting person at the time of breaking the fast in one hadeeth it is reported that one who feeds a person out of his halaal earnings to break the fast the malaaikah grant mercy upon him during the nights of ramadhaan and jibraeel j shakes hands with him on laylatul qadr the sign of this is that his heart becomes soft and tears flow from his eyes during ramadhaan hammad bin salamah a very famous muhaddith used to feed fifty people every day at iftaar roohul bayan thereafter the hadeeth of rasulullah j called the first section i.e first 10 days of ramadhaan the coming of mercy which means that allah s favour is with the believers those who are thankful to allah for his bounties will receive even more the qur aan says if you are thankful i will surely grant you more during the second section i.e the second 10 days of ramadhaan forgiveness begins to come down as a reward for fasting during the first section the last section i.e the last 10 days of ramadhaan brings protection from entrance into jahannam this is supported by many similar ahaadeeth in my personal opinion ramadhaan has been divided into three sections because people are normally of three different kinds firstly there are those who have no sins for them allah s mercy and bounties come from the very beginning of ramadhaan secondly there are those whose sins are not too heavy for them forgiveness comes after one third of ramadhaan has passed thirdly there are the

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12 virtues of ramadhaan real sinners for them forgiveness comes after having fasted most of ramadhaan those who received allah mercy right at the beginning are the very fortunate ones because of the great amount of mercy they have received and allah knows best another point mentioned in the ahaadeeth is that masters should be merciful to their servants in ramadhaan because after all they too are fasting unnecessary hard work or too much of it will be difficult for them an extra worker should be hired when the work is too much that of course only applies when the servant himself fasts otherwise there is no difference for them between ramadhaan and any other month lastly rasulullah j encouraged four things in the hadeeth that should be repeated constantly firstly the recitation of kalimah tayyibah which in the ahaadeeth is called the highest form of zikr in mishkat abu saeed khudri reports once nabi moosa begged of allah to grant him a special zikr by which he can remember allah and also by which he could ask him allah then told him to recite the kalimah tayyibah sayyidina moosa said o allah this is a zikr recited by all your servants i wish for a special zikr allah replied o moosa if the seven heavens the earth and all its occupants including the malaaikah but excluding myself i.e excluding allah himself are placed on one side of a scale and this kalimah on the other then this kalimah will weigh heavier than everything else in another hadeeth it is stated should anyone sincerely recite this kalimah the doors of jannah open up for him immediately and nothing can stop him from reaching allah arsh throne the only condition is that the reciter should stay away from major sins the kalimah tayyibah is the most excellent form of zikr allah has made it for everybody so that none is deprived of it therefore if any person is deprived of it it is his own fault there are many ahaadeeth showing its rewards.

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ramadhaan the month of rewards 13 the second thing which should be recited plentifully is istighfaar the ahaadeeth report many rewards of istighfaar in one hadeeth we read whoever makes much istighfaar allah opens a way out for him from all problems and removes all sadness from him he also receives rizq food money etc from unexpected places in another hadeeth rasulullah j said that every man is a sinner but the best among the sinners are those who repent and ask for forgiveness in one hadeeth it is mentioned that when a man commits a sin a black spot forms on his heart but when he asks for forgiveness it is washed away if not the black spot remains thereafter rasulullah j commanded us to beg two things which we cannot do without firstly to beg allah for entrance into jannah and secondly to ask for protection in him from jahannam may allah grant us this good fortune aameen five gifts given to this ummah in ramadhaan abu hurairah says that rasulullah j said my ummah has been given five special things that were not given to anyone before them the smell from the mouth of a fasting muslim is sweeter for allah than the sweet smell of musk the fish in the sea ask for forgiveness for them until they break their fast allah prepares and decorates his special jannah every day and then says the time is near when my loyal servants shall put away the load of the world and come to you the evil shayateen are chained in this month of ramadhaan so as not to take people towards evils which they normally do during other months on the last night of ramadhaan the fasting muslims are forgiven the sahaabah then asked o rasulullah j is that the night of laylatul qadr rasulullah j replied no but it is only right that a servant should be given his reward on having completed his duty

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14 virtues of ramadhaan note these five gifts from allah were not granted to the fasting people before islam if only we could truly appreciate how great this gift from allah really is we will sincerely try to get these special favours first we are told that the smell from the mouth of the fasting person is more pleasing to allah than the smell of musk there are three most acceptable explanations a some say that in the aakhirah hereafter allah shall reward that smell from the mouth with a pleasing smell more sweet and refreshing than musk durre manthur b on the day of qiyamah when we shall rise from our graves a sweet smell shall come from the mouths of those who fasted and that shall be better than musk c in my opinion the view that in this very world the smell is more pleasing for allah than musk this shows the ties of love between allah and his fasting slaves we all know that even a bad smell from a person whom one loves truly and sincerely is in itself attractive to the lover who in this case is allah himself what is shown is how close to allah a fasting person is fasting is one of the most pleasing forms of worship in the sight of allah and for this reason a hadeeth states that for every deed the reward is brought by the malaaikah but allah says the reward for fasting i myself will give because it is for me alone another report of the same hadeeth when read in a different way says i myself become his reward and what greater reward can there be for the lover than to meet the beloved in another hadeeth we read fasting is the door to all other forms of worship of allah this means that through fasting the heart becomes encouraged to other forms of worship this is the case if the

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